CacheCrazy.Com

I would like you to meet our friend Dave from smithie23. I remember when Dave was on his first handfull of caches and now he has more finds than me. He is a great geocacher who hides as good as he finds and he's one hell of a writer too. So, go get that second cup of coffee and enjoy a special guest post.


I often hear the phrase “the world is our game board” used when describing geocaching. It’s one of the beautiful things about our game/sport. You can play this game anywhere in the world (as long as you have permission, of course)! As with other areas in life, we sometimes focus too much on what, and specifically WHERE, we are accustomed to. The end result is we often miss out on things which are around us, because we choose not to take the time to expand our minds and horizons.


I often travel, as my job dictates. I make regular trips to south Florida and Arizona. In my limited downtime on these business trips, I’ve been able to get some caching in. I’ve found caching away from home to be particularly rewarding. It satisfies on two levels: I love to see new things, and I love finding new caches. (I love seeing a new state pop up on my stats page, but that’s another blog for another time!)

Most of my long distance caching is done on foot. A day or two before the trip, I’ll scout out my destination for caches, and run a pocket query for that area, limiting caches to 100 or so, of lower-rated terrain. By checking out the maps, I will usually target a cache or two, close to where I’m staying and/or working. Time is of the essence on these trips, so I’m primarily limited to an hour or so, and almost always in the morning. My goal is not about the numbers, but for the find. I’ve found geocaching can provide a bit of a local flair. I’ve seen containers used in Florida which would never last in the harsh winters of Pennsylvania. Lingo tends to vary by area, judging by logs I’ve read.

When Kevin (Bloodhounded) asked me to guest blog on cachecrazy.com, this was one topic I had in mind. As the situation prevented itself, I had to travel to Scottsdale, Arizona for a few days. I was last in Scottsdale in the fall of 2009, and posted a DNF for one of the coolest cache sites I’ve seen to date.

Arizona Falls (GCGEZR) eluded me on that trip. I searched for a good 30 minutes, but my schedule did not allot me for any more time, and I had to give up. As disappointed as I was for not finding the cache, I was brought to a great location. Ground zero is located at what appears to be a water treatment facility. On the property, there are several waterfalls. Waterfalls in the desert! Forget for a moment about the fact they are man-made. Waterfalls in the desert! It was a memory I took back to NEPA with me.

I was determined to find Arizona Falls this time. Ground zero was about a ¾-mile walk from where I was staying. A cool Arizona morning greeted me, and I was determined to not walk away empty handed this time. I approached the area, and utilizing the hint, I headed straight to where I believed the cache was. One careful swipe of my left hand, and there it was! How did I possibly miss it the last time? It didn’t matter, I had found it. I signed the logbook (which had just been replaced in the days leading up to my visit) and took a few minutes to gaze at the waterfalls, as I had done about a year and a half ago.

Arizona Falls was a great example of a well-placed micro. There was nothing overly clever about the container, or where it was placed. There didn’t need to be. It brought me to a place I may have, otherwise, never seen. As a bonus, it’s now both my southernmost and westernmost found cache. Sweet!